The Genuine Thing
by ErinM
Summary: What happens when reality intrudes on fantasy? *post-series for Tin Man. Some time after 'Half Life' for Medical Investigation.
1. The Genuine Thing

**Title**: The Genuine Thing  
**Author**: Erin (erinm_)  
**Characters, Pairing**: DG, Evie, Stephen, Natalie, Miles, Eva and Frank (mention of Carter, Kate, Cain, Raw, Tutor, Glitch, Popsicle, Robo-Mom, Az, the witch, the Mystic Man, Mo-Bats and Gulch)  
**Rating**: G  
**Summary**: What happens when reality intrudes on fantasy?  
**Warning**: post-series. Kinda. Some time after 'Half Life' for _Medical Investigation_. *written for Color Challenge 01 at **tm_challenge** on LiveJournal. Title comes from the cowboy origin of the phrase 'cut the mustard.'  
**Disclaimer**: The original characters belongs to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. _Medical Investigation_ and the characters belong to NBC and their respective actors.

DG jerked out of her daydream and looked up to see Evie shaking her head. "You better hope Carter doesn't see you noddin' off, Deej." DG sat up and grabbed the next mustard bottle from the collection on the table and twisted the cap off. The restaurant was fairly empty, thanks to the post-breakfast and pre-lunch lull, so DG had taken the opportunity to do some menial tasks that required little to no effort.

Ever since the twister a few weeks back, she had a tendency to slip off into the little world she'd created for herself. Popsicle said she'd smacked her head pretty hard when the wind pushed through the house and knocked her into the bookcase. She'd been out for the entire twister, as well as half the following morning.

There was some minor damage to the house – a few loose shingles – and the windmill had a good twist in the rotor. She swore - up and down the block – that, for the next two days, she'd been in a twisted version of Oz. Mom just shook her head and blamed DG's overactive imagination. She'd also mumbled something about forcing an insanity plea _not_ being the way to keep her bike.

DG grumbled for two more days and continued to swear it had all happened. She knew names, faces... Finally, she began writing it all down; everything she could remember. After one day, she'd filled three notebooks, the backs of half her class handouts and two sketchpads. Popsicle bought a dozen notebooks for her the next day and she filled three of those by dinner.

Funny thing, she noted: she'd never been a 'writer.' She'd drawn faces and landscapes and symbols. Now, the faces had voices and quirks and she could hear all of them, plain as day. Every time she closed her eyes, she would see and hear more.

She saw a sister, an evil witch and a man with a zipper on his head. Popsicle laughed out loud when she told him he was actually a robot. There was a quiet, hairy man; a wizardy-type; a transforming dog and half-monkey, half-bats. There was also a cop – one who'd made her feel safer than Gulch ever did.

It was no wonder she associated the place with a cracked-out Oz. Hell, she'd even talked to Dorothy! At the farmhouse, even! But, live in Kansas and what do you expect? All the tourists came through asking Oz questions and anyone named Dorothy **must** know the Cowardly Lion. There was no escaping it.

Not even today.

DG heard the small bell on the front door jingle behind her as she replaced the cap on the newly-filled bottle. "Come on," she heard a female voice say. "You're so totally Dorothy." DG rolled her eyes slightly but didn't turn to see the group enter. Evie called from the counter for the group to sit anywhere and DG grabbed another bottle as the group took their seats two tables behind her.

"You've got the brown hair; you hang out with three guys," Eva Rossi said after sitting in the chair next to the window. Doctor Natalie Durant looked to the others in the group and shrugged.

"What about me?" Doctor Miles McCabe, who was sitting next to Eva, asked. Eva looked at him for a second and nodded.

"Scarecrow." Natalie laughed as she pulled a menu from the small rack at the end of the table. Miles looked across the table to Natalie and Doctor Stephen Connor, then back to Eva.

"So, I have no brain?" he asked as he reached for a menu. Eva shook her head and grabbed a menu as well.

"No, but you're always asking questions. 'Thirst for knowledge' and all that." Natalie caught his eye and nodded as Stephen took the menu from her hand and passed it across the table to Frank Powell. Evie brought over five glasses of water and gave them all a wide smile.

"Welcome. Soon as you're ready to order, give me a shout." They all nodded back and Evie returned to the counter.

"What about Frank?" Natalie asked with a smirk, looking across the table to him. Eva and Miles turned to their right to look at him as well and Frank groaned.

"If you say 'Lion,' there best be a 'fierce' or 'terrifying' with it. 'King of the Jungle' sort of thing." Stephen simply shook his head.

"This from the man who had a fit when he had to wear a t-shirt with a seal on it." Natalie, Miles and Eva snickered while Frank grumbled. Natalie nodded to Evie, who returned with an order pad. After all their orders were placed, Evie returned to the counter and passed the slip to Carter.

"So," Natalie said, turning to Stephen. "That makes you the Tin Man?" Stephen's eyes sparkled for a moment before he glanced at Eva and smirked.

"You do realize that you've branded yourself a flying monkey, right?" Frank snorted into his glass of water and Natalie's face shot behind the menu she hadn't put away yet. DG also looked up from the table at the sound of his voice then shrugged. Eva looked back to Stephen with a fish-face. Passing his menu back to Natalie, he glanced again to Eva.

"Running around NIH, doing Kate's dirty work..." Eva blinked.

"Are you calling Doctor Ewing the-" Miles asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If the silver slippers fit," Stephen stated, taking a moment to look around the small café. Miles and Eva looked at each other, then to Stephen.

"You mean ruby slippers, don't you?" Eva asked with a nod. Stephen's brow furrowed and looked to Natalie, who put a hand on his arm and looked at the younger members of the group.

"Since they were doing the movie in color, they wanted the shoes to stand out. So they made them red. In the book, however, the shoes were silver." Natalie looked at each of her teammates and shrugged. "What?" Stephen said nothing and smiled as Miles and Eva shared a look.

Frank looked at his watch. "Think we'll be back in Bethesda in time to watch the game?" he asked Stephen, whose response was a half-nod, half-shrug.

"Deej!" they all heard and looked toward the counter. "A little help?" Evie asked, nodding toward the collection of plates Carter had placed under the warmer. Stephen and Natalie watched as the waitress two tables over stood up from a sea of mustard bottles and moved to the counter. Evie nodded to the turkey sandwich and picked up her tray.

"Grab one of those mustards, too." DG nodded as she reached for the plate. Moving back to her previous spot, DG grabbed the bottle she'd just filled and stood behind Evie as the plates were passed out then dropped the tray to her side and took a step to the right.

"Turkey sandwich?" DG asked as she looked up to the table. She nearly dropped the plate when she saw the man sitting in front of her. Stephen flashed her a grin and raised his hand as DG set the plate down in front of him and forced her gaze anywhere but on him.

"Now that's a sandwich," he said, looking at the sandwich with approval. He glanced up a second later and nodded to DG. Pointing to the mustard bottle in her hand, he smiled. DG blinked and set the mustard on the table.

"Sorry..." she stammered then turned and moved back to her mustard collection, fighting the urge to look back.

"So," Stephen asked Natalie a moment later. "Why am I the Tin Man?" DG's eyes went wide. Thank God she was facing the other way.

The eyes. That jaw. The ring.

Wyatt Freakin' Cain was sitting in the Hilltop Café.


	2. Really, The Genuine Thing

**Title**: Really, the Genuine Thing  
**Author**: Erin (erinm_)  
**Characters, Pairing**: DG, Evie, Stephen, Natalie, Miles, Eva and Frank (mention of Carter, Cain, Glitch, Robo-Mom, Gulch, Jack and Jeb)  
**Rating**: PG  
**Summary**: An innocent comment brings DG face-to-face with Cain's doppleganger.  
**Warning**: post-series. Kinda. Some time after 'Half Life' for _Medical Investigation_.  
**Disclaimer**: The original characters belongs to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. _Medical Investigation_ and the characters belong to NBC and their respective actors.

DG had returned all the bottles of mustard to their respective tables and tried to find random jobs to keep her occupied. No, she was trying to find things to keep her from staring at the man sitting at the end table. Every so often, her gaze would find its way to his face.

It was just freaky. Beyond anything she'd seen in the O.Z.-freaky, at that. This man was the spitting image of Wyatt Cain. They even had the same voice! She really must be losing her mind. Call for the men in the white coats, because she had finally snapped.

She'd been having headaches ever since the twister – Mom said they were probably due to her skull smashing into the bookcase, but all she had to show was a knot the size of a quarter. DG stretched her neck slightly and decided it was time for another dose of aspirin. She moved along the counter toward the register and shot another glance at the Cain-double and bent down to find the first-aid kit.

"...they said to check out Blackhawk," she heard the younger man say. Eva looked from Miles to Natalie, and everyone looked to Stephen, who was shaking his head as he swallowed a fry.

"Blackhawk's too commercial. You want the true experience, you go to Central City." The back of DG's head connected with the underside of the counter and everyone turned at the loud thunk.

"Damnit!" they heard and everyone winced. They'd all been in a similar position and knew from the sound that that one must've hurt. DG almost sat down on the floor as the pain coursing through her was so strong. She'd – of course – connected the knot on her head with one of the spacer strips the countertop was nailed to.

Taking a few deep breaths, she tossed the first-aid kit onto the counter and reached blindly for the edge. Heaving herself up, DG pulled her right hand away from the sore spot and stared at her hand. Great! Now she was bleeding. She put her hand back to the fresh wound and hissed slightly as she moved into the kitchen area for a clean rag.

Evie brought the check over and glanced back into the kitchen as Stephen and Natalie looked in the same direction. Evie looked back and waved. "Don't mind that girl. She's in her own little world these days." She leaned over a little and lowered her voice. "Twister touched down by her house 'few weeks back. Took a pretty good crack to the skull, our DG." Natalie made a face and Evie continued with an eyeroll. "Claimed she had her own little Oz adventure, too." Everyone smiled and all turned in the direction of the kitchen a second later when DG yelled again.

"Carter! I told you not to put the knives _in_ the sink!" The team from NIH watched as DG came barreling around the corner and shot to the small restroom behind them. A moment later, she came back to the counter with a wad of paper towels and slumped onto one of the stools.

Natalie nudged Stephen and took the check. "Go play doctor, Doctor." Miles and Eva shared a smile as Stephen rolled his eyes and pulled himself out of the chair. As he neared DG, he noticed the red tinge in her hair and winced slightly. DG jumped when she realized there was a person standing next to her, which caused Stephen to raise his hands.

"It's okay," he said calmly. "I'm a doctor. Just here to help." DG watched him carefully as he sat down next to her and reached for the first-aid kit. He leaned forward on the stool and pulled a pair of rubber gloves from his pocket. DG's eyes shot to his hands and watched intently as he pulled the gloves on with ease. Stephen noticed and shrugged.

"Force of habit," he said with a slight laugh. Nodding to her hand, he let DG make the first move. She rested her elbow on the edge of the counter and bit her bottom lip as he pulled the paper towels away from the cut. He grimaced slightly at the size of the cut – not that he was squeamish, but because it was deeper than he'd like.

Reaching for the iodine pads, Stephen nodded to her head. "That from-" he nodded next to the other side of the counter. DG winced and took a deep breath.

"The blood, yes. The knot, unfortunately, no." Stephen pulled the pad out of the wrapper and tilted his head toward Evie, who was still at the table talking to his team.

"She said you had a tornado in the area?" DG nodded and blinked. God, her head hurt. But Cain was taking care- Giving herself a mental smack, DG took the opportunity to give this non-Cain a good look. Stephen could feel her eyes on him and forced back a smile.

"Good news is, we can save the hand," he said with a smile and a nod to the clean cut.

DG gave him a forced smile and nodded once. "Great." She looked over to the table Gulch had been sitting at just a few weeks prior - the morning of the twister that started this whole mess – and laughed at the irony that, in fact, that had been one of her better days. Dropping her head into her left hand, DG scratched the top of her head. 'Right about the spot where Glitch's zipper sat,' she thought with a grumble.

Looking back up to Stephen, her eyes narrowed. "You don't have a son named Jeb, by chance?" Stephen smiled and shook his head as he reached for a gauze pad and the roll of tape.

"No," he said, handing DG the tape. She looked at it for a moment, then back to Stephen. "His name is Jack, actually." DG nodded and flinched as Stephen placed the gauze down over the cut. He gave her an apologetic look and nodded to the tape.

"So, tell me what happened to your head," he ordered with a nod. DG sighed and shrugged.

"Wind picked up just right and blew the front door open, I guess. Gust caught me just right and I became one with the furniture." Stephen nodded with a frown.

"Headaches?" DG nodded. "Did you see a doctor?" DG fought the urge to roll her eyes. Even though this guy was completely channeling Wyatt Cain, he wasn't Cain. He was just trying to help.

"Yeah. Mom insisted. He said to just take aspirin. Which," she pointed to the other side of the counter. "Is what started this whole mess." Stephen nodded and put her hand down on the counter.

"Well, it doesn't look too bad." He lifted himself off the seat slightly to take another look. He sat back down and pulled the gloves off, then began putting the contents of the first-aid kit back. "Put some ice on it." He pushed the lid shut and sighed. "As for that," he said with a nod to her right hand. "I'd suggest a stop by the hospital on your way home tonight. That should do you, until you can get yourself out of here." He nodded again and pushed off the stool.

"Thanks, Cain," DG said before she realized she'd said it. "Sorry," she stammered. "You remind me of-" Stephen nodded.

"Not to worry. Name's Conner, by the way," he said, holding out his right hand automatically. When he realized DG was moving her right hand toward him, he shifted and switched to his left. DG realized it as well and leaned over herself to take his hand and give it a good shake.

The rest of Stephen's team stood up and Natalie moved over to the register with Evie to take care of the bill. "She's right, y'know," DG said, nodding toward Natalie. Natalie turned and smirked at Stephen, who gave her a 'shut up' smile.

"How's that?" he asked, practically beaming. DG nodded to him and laughed slightly.

"You have no idea how much you are the Tin Man." She lifted her hand slightly and nodded, then moved around the both of them and hurried back into the kitchen. Stephen watched her disappear and glanced back to Natalie.

"What?" Natalie shook her head. She'd seen the girl staring on and off the entire time they'd been there.

"Just wondering if she's ever been to BYU." Stephen rolled his eyes and moved over next to Frank as Natalie turned back to the register and laughed silently.


	3. Genuinely, the Real Thing

**Title**: Genuinely, the Real Thing  
**Author**: Erin (erinm_)  
**Characters, Pairing**: DG, Evie, Stephen, Natalie, Miles, Eva, Frank and Cain (mention of Carter, Robo-Mom, Popsicle, Tutor, the witch, Lonot and the waitress *who I named, for the sake of the story*)  
**Rating**: PG  
**Summary**: A Tin Man, a princess and a doctor are standing in a diner...  
**Warning**: post-series. Kinda. Some time after 'Half Life' for _Medical Investigation_. Thanks to **buffybot76** for brow-beating me one paragraph, and **moony_blues** for the mustard.  
**Disclaimer**: The original characters belongs to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. _Medical Investigation_ and the characters belong to NBC and their respective actors.

Evie handed the receipt over to Natalie and moved along the counter, disappearing into the kitchen. Just as Natalie turned away from the counter, the little bell over the door rang, once again announcing someone's entrance. She automatically looked to the new entrant, then from Stephen and Frank, to Eva and Miles, and straight back to-

The stranger caught her eye and nodded just as DG came back out into the dining room with a tray of silverware and a stack of paper napkins. He let out a deep breath and moved swiftly past Natalie - who turned as he passed, still staring – and over to the opposite side of the counter from DG.

"There you are, Kid," DG heard. Dropping the tray to the counter, the silverware tinkled as DG's eyes went wide and she raised her head slowly toward the voice. Natalie noted that the look on her face must match the one on the young waitress, except that the young girl had actual shock, whereas Natalie was more confused.

"No!" DG said, pointing and stepping back. "No, no _**no**_..." she stated with a nervous laugh, shaking her head vehemently. "You are a figment of my imagination," she stated with a sharp nod. Wyatt Cain rolled his eyes and sighed.

Stephen looked away from Frank as he heard the girl speak – Frank was watching Miles and Eva argue the proper tip - and noticed Natalie's expression. His brow furrowed slightly and he moved over to her side and reached for her elbow. "Nat?" he asked quietly. She heard Stephen, but wasn't able to take her gaze off of the man who'd just walked in. She reached blindly across herself for his arm and ended up swatting at him, somewhere in the vicinity of his jacket's pocket.

Stephen looked down at her hand and snorted lightly, then narrowed his eyes and stepped in front of her. She flinched as Stephen's face came into focus in front of her and shook her head slightly. He gave her one of those 'You okay?' looks, to which she responded by reaching up and taking his face in her hands. She next turned his head in the direction of DG and... well... Stephen.

Stephen looked at the man standing there and pulled away from Natalie and turned back to her. A split second later, realization kicked in and Stephen straightened. Natalie simply nodded and Stephen turned slowly. Natalie's hand moved to cover her mouth in awe and they both simply... stared.

"Look, Kid. I told you that messing with a Travel Storm was-" Cain stopped as he noticed DG wince at the mention of the meteorological anomaly. DG's head was suddenly throbbing. She tilted her head slightly - as if the motion would actually do something - and closed her eyes. Leaning back against the rear counter, DG forgot that her hand was wrapped and set her hand, palm open, down the edge of the countertop harder than she'd intended. Pain coursed through her hand and up her arm and she bit her lip as tears began to well up in her eyes.

This really wasn't her day.

Eva tapped Miles and pointed toward Stephen and Natalie. Frank and Miles both looked to their bosses and noticed their gaze was locked on the man who'd just entered. Frank moved over to Stephen slowly and turned just enough to look at the man, really interested to see what had their attention. At the same time, DG raised her bandaged hand and took a few deep breaths. Her eyes shot open when Cain asked her: "What happened?"

Glancing quickly from her wrapped hand up to Cain, DG's eyes went wide and she turned to Stephen and Natalie. It was rather obvious that they could see Cain, as well. As Cain could feel two sets of eyes on him, he turned to see who DG was looking at as Frank turned his own head.

"Holy-" Frank said, jumping back slightly. Eva and Miles looked at each other then back to Stephen and... Stephen.

Wyatt Cain and Stephen Connor could only stare at each other.

Their gaze was finally broken when Stephen turned to Natalie as she hit him, one time too many. "Yes, Natalie. I can see," he said with exasperation. Natalie was still looking at Cain, and Eva and Miles were looking from Stephen and Cain to each other and back. Frank, on the other hand, was trying not to laugh. DG took two steps along the aisle, moving toward the register. She was going to take the entire bottle of aspirin, this time.

Natalie snapped out of her daze and looked over to DG, who looked decidedly unwell all of a sudden, and saw the bandage slowly turning red. She grabbed Stephen's arm and nodded to the girl. "Stephen!" As they were at the edge of the counter, Doctor Connor took over and Stephen darted around the counter to catch DG as she stumbled toward him. Frank automatically stepped in front of Cain and held up a hand.

"It's okay," Stephen said to DG and nodded to Natalie. "Frank, can you go grab my case?" he asked as Natalie stepped over and helped him walk DG to the table they'd just been occupying and put her into the seat. Frank nodded and headed outside to the truck while Stephen knelt down in front of DG and checked her eyes, allowing her to focus on his very blue ones.

"Miles," Natalie said, her hand still on DG's arm. "Paper towels," she said, motioning to the small restroom at the other end of the building.

"Must've hit my head harder than, uh-" DG stammered, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Hey," he asked, giving her the slightest shake. "Where'd you put that first-aid kit?" DG swallowed and pointed toward the counter.

"Under the register," she said, wincing again. Stephen's nose scrunched slightly and he turned just enough to see Eva out of the corner of his eye.

"Eva. First-aid kit, under the register." Eva nodded and moved around the counter. Miles came back into the dining room with wet paper towels in one hand and dry in the other as Frank pulled the door open and passed Stephen's medical case over. In one swift motion, Stephen moved the case to the floor, popped the lid open and pulled out a fresh set of gloves.

Carefully, he pulled away the bandage that was now a darker red. DG shook her head, cursing herself, as she watched the doctor once again take care of her clumsiness. Stephen felt bad for the girl, as she looked like she'd been through the ringer; and that was just in the few minutes since his... twin... entered the restaurant.

Nudging her knee with his elbow, Stephen tilted his head toward Cain and smiled. "Usually, when someone says 'You remind me of-'" He let a small laugh slip. "They aren't being _quite_ that literal." DG breathed a small laugh and rolled her eyes toward Cain.

Cain didn't like the idea that there was a strange man with his hands on the Princess. Or that the man looked exactly like him. Or that the man was making her laugh and smile like that. He also wasn't too happy that DG seemed disturbed by his presence. However, realizing that she was in the care of medics, Cain took a moment to glance at the space where DG had spent her day; it was much brighter than any mess hall he'd ever experienced.

He told Glitch, DG and Tutor that they shouldn't be messing around with Travel Storms, but no one would listen. It had taken four days to figure out what had gone wrong with the process – the witch had installed a failsafe in the program as soon as General Lonot failed in his mission. She must have figured that anyone traveling between the O.Z. and the Other Side shouldn't remember where they had been or how they got there. It seemed, however, that due to the magic in DG, the plan backfired and spat her back in time. Once repaired, it took another three days before they were able to successfully awaken a Storm and pass through.

The part the disturbed Cain even more – almost – was that DG's Nurture Units had been adversely affected, as well. They'd agreed to travel back with her, in case something went wrong, and seemed to have had their memories altered. When he'd shown up at the farmhouse looking for DG an hour before, they had no idea who he was or what he'd been talking about. Or that they were Nurture Units.

Granted, he'd only met them for a whole minute-and-a-half in Milltown. Remembering that DG had said something about trouble with the law before traveling to the O.Z., Cain informed them he was an officer and needed to speak to her regarding the trouble. To which they informed him that DG was at work; which brought him to this small dining hall.

Natalie stood up from the huddle around DG and looked to Cain with a raised eyebrow. She was reluctant to hold eye contact, but stepped over to him and nodded in DG's direction. "She apparently took a pretty good smack to the head last week," Natalie recounted. "And another one about half an hour ago." Cain's brow furrowed. "She live far from here?" Cain shrugged; it had been just over two miles, he guessed. Unless, of course, she was referring to the palace, which was decidedly further.

Realizing she was staring at him, Cain smiled slightly and Natalie looked away, blushing. "Y'know," he started. "I've seen some strange things... But-" he nodded toward Stephen and Miles, who were still talking to DG. "That's new." Natalie smiled and turned back to the group for a moment, then back to Cain.

"Oh, sorry," she said with a slight jump and stuck out her hand. "Doctor Natalie Durant. National Institutes of Health."

"Wyatt Cain," he responded with a nod to DG, and shrugged. What was he, exactly? Friend? Bodyguard? "She gonna be all right?" he asked as his eyes narrowed. Natalie looked over her shoulder and sighed.

"Well, knowing Stephen, he'll _drag_ her to the hospital..." She took a moment to look Connor's twin over. "I'm guessing you're not from here," she said with a raised eyebrow. Cain raised an eyebrow back – which Natalie found odd, because as much as this man looked like Stephen, they were quite different.

Natalie nodded to the firearm on his hip and leaned closer. "Apparently she was trying to convince everyone she was in Oz," she stated, inferring that the girl might have more than just a bump on the head to deal with. Cain moved his eyes away and clenched his jaw, pondering the best way to respond. Natalie opened her mouth to respond and shut it again.

This day couldn't get any weirder.

"So," Stephen asked as he pulled a bottle from his case and raised his eyebrow slightly. "Tell me about this Cain fellow." DG sighed and watched Stephen shake the bottle's contents into a cotton ball. 'That's gonna sting,' she noted before responding:

"Um... he's, uh..." Should she tell him the story? Or make something up. "He's-" DG frowned and looked up to Stephen. "How did you know his name is Cain?" Stephen smiled and nodded to DG's hand.

"You called me 'Cain,'" he stated, nodding toward the counter behind him. "Took a stab at-" He winced at the bad pun and DG laughed slightly. Stephen nodded to her hand again and slowly moved the cotton ball down to the cut.

"He's a Tin Ma-" DG rolled her eyes slightly at the slip as she winced at the pain from the contact. "Cop," she amended, blinking back the tears and taking a deep breath. Stephen smirked, her earlier comment about his being the Tin Man suddenly making sense. Sort of.

Miles and Eva had swapped duties and the young doctor was currently cutting a fresh gauze pad to size while Eva passed one of the wet paper towels over to Stephen. Frank continued to stare at Natalie and Cain, and Eva and Miles were constantly gazing between the identical men. Stephen rolled his eyes at Miles and pulled the pad out of his hand. DG smiled slightly; she'd seen that look on Cain's face more than once when Glitch was glitching.

Her gaze moved to Cain for a moment, and she frowned. She wasn't sure what was real anymore. Other than the pain in her head and hand, anyway. Stephen noticed the look and cleared his throat. Dropping his voice down to a whisper as he began rewrapping her hand, Stephen asked: "You sure the wind...?" he trailed off, giving her a pointed stare.

DG shook her head and dropped her shoulders. "I'm sure." She gave him a smile and tilted her head toward Cain. "He may look like a hard-ass, but," she tapped Stephen's chest – just above his heart – with her uninjured hand. "Teddy bear." Finishing up the wrap, Stephen nodded to Miles, who was standing by with the tape.

"I'd really like you to go to the hospital, DG. Get this tended to properly," he said, nodding to her hand. DG leaned back and frowned.

"Are you saying you didn't tend to it properly?" Stephen made a face and pulled his gloves off.

"I'm saying that a hospital will have better supplies than a first-aid kit and my case."

"You'll also want to make sure you get this first-aid kit refilled," Miles said automatically. Eva gave him a shove and DG laughed lightly before meeting Stephen's gaze. She was suddenly very thankful she'd driven the truck to work today; not that she was about to try and drive home now. Not with a possible head injury and her breaking hand wrapped in gauze. Cain seemed to be able to handle DeMilo's van rather well. Here was to hoping he could handle a Chevy.

Realizing that Stephen was waiting for a response, DG nodded to him and he smiled. She just had to get home and lie down. Carter was going to freak when she asked to get off early. But with a gunslinging-Tin Man and a team of doctors on her side, he just might back off.

"Good." He planted his hands on his knees and pushed himself up, giving Cain a straight view of DG; she looked terrible. Natalie stepped aside and waved Cain along. He and Stephen gave each other a polite nod as they switched positions. Natalie gave Stephen a smirk as Cain nodded to DG.

"Ambrose... is at the farmhouse," he said carefully, giving her a look. DG blinked and let out a breath. "Resetting the... units." Well, that scratched out calling Popsicle. DG reached up to take Cain's offered hand and let the former Tin Man pull her up. "Are you okay?" he asked, bending down so that they were at eye-level with each other. DG nodded and sighed heavily.

"Years of insanity have finally made me crazy," she stated with a big grin and a nod. Another wave of nausea hit and she grabbed Cain's arm to help steady herself. Staring at one of the buttons on his duster, DG leaned close and whispered: "Have I lost my mind?" She stared at his chest for a moment then looked up into his also-very blue eyes. Cain smirked and looked at the top of her head.

"Don't see a zipper." Stephen overheard the comment and gave his 'twin' a look.

Timing being everything, Evie entered the dining room and looked up to see the crowd near the door. She'd only gone out back for five minutes to call home and check in with the babysitter. Carter had also taken advantage of the break in customers to check the freezer's stock and take out the trash.

"Deej, you look terrible," she said with wide eyes. DG shrugged and opened her mouth, but Evie continued talking. "We're gonna be slow today, and Maggie'll be here in a bit," she said with a wave. "Go home." DG's shoulders dropped in relief. "And stay away from anything that you can injure yourself with," she said with a distinct snap.

Stephen and Natalie smiled at each other and Stephen looked over to DG, who had closed her eyes again. "Hospital," he said, pointing to her, then to Cain and nodded. Both nodded in response. Cain wasn't sure what or where the hospital was, but would get DG to the palace medic as soon as they returned to the O.Z.

"Come on, Princess," Cain said, putting an arm around DG and pointing her to the door. "Let's get you home." DG shook her head and pulled away.

"I need to get my stuff," she said, pointing over her shoulder. Cain huffed and let her go as Eva moved over to the counter with the first-aid kit.

"We kinda stripped it bare," she said, smiling to Evie, who waved it off and tossed the box back under the counter.

"I'll pick up a new one tonight."

DG reappeared and moved along the counter, stopping at Stephen's side. Cain grumbled as he watched DG lift up on her toes and give Stephen a small peck on the cheek. "Thank you," she murmured. Natalie forced back a smile as she saw Cain flinch. She could tell by the look on his face what he was thinking.

'DG shouldn't be going around, kissing strange men,' he thought bitterly. 'Especially strange men who look just like me.' Then, an errant thought added itself to his mind: 'Strange men who... aren't... me?' Cain blinked. 'Wait... _What_?!'

Natalie faked a cough so that she could raise her hand to her mouth, hiding the grin, as Stephen gave DG a wide smile and nodded. Cain's arm automatically moved to DG's back as she passed and he led her to the door, giving everyone another nod. As he held the door open for DG, Cain turned back and nodded to Natalie. "By the way... we call it the Oh Zee." With that, he exited the diner and everyone looked from Natalie to the window and watched the two figures move across the parking lot.

Eyes wide, Natalie nodded, accepting that the day could, in fact, _actually_ get weirder.


End file.
